Amendment and Revocation of Practice Notes

(1) The Commissioner-General may amend or revoke a practice note, in whole or part, by publishing notice of the amendment or revoca-tion in the Gazette or in a daily newspaper with narevoca-tional circularevoca-tion.

(2) The subsequent passage of legislation or issue of a practice note that is inconsistent with an existing practice note revokes the existing practice note to the extent of the inconsistency.

(3) The amendment or revocation of a practice note, in whole or part, has

effect-(a) if subparagraph (1) applies, from the date specified in the notice of amendment or revocation and if no date is speci-fied, from the date notice of the amendment or revocation is published in the Gazette or in a daily newspaper with national circulation; or

(b) if subparagraph (2) applies, from the date the inconsistent legislation or practice note applies.

(4) The amended or revoked part of a practice

note-(a) continues to apply to arrangements commenced before the amendment or revocation; and

(b) does not apply to arrangements commenced after the amendment or revocation.

5—Private Rulings

(1) The Commissioner-General may, upon application in writing by a person, issue to that person a private ruling setting out the Commis-sioner-General’s position regarding the application of this Act to that person with respect to a transaction proposed or entered into by that person.

(2) Where a person issued with a ruling under subparagraph (1) makes, prior to issue of the ruling:,

a. a full and true disclosure to the Commissioner-General of all aspects of the transaction relevant to the ruling, and b. the transaction proceeds in all material respects as described

in that person’s application for the ruling, the ruling shall be binding on the Commissioner-General with respect to the application of this Act (as in force at the time of the ruling) to that person with respect to the transaction.

(3) Where there is an inconsistency between a practice note and a private ruling, priority is given to the terms of the private ruling.

(4) A private ruling

must-(a) set out the matters ruled on, identifying the tax laws, periods and arrangements to which the ruling applies as well as any assumptions that affect the ruling;

(b) identify the applicant and the applicant’s TIN;

6 - Amendment and Revocation of Private Rulings

(1) For reasonable cause, the Commissioner-General may amend or revoke a ruling, in whole or part, by written notice- served on the applicant

(2) An amendment under subparagraph (1) must comply with the requirements of paragraph 4(4).

(3) The subsequent passage of legislation that is inconsistent with a private ruling revokes the ruling to the extent of the inconsistency.

(4) The amendment or revocation of a private ruling, in whole or part, has

effect-(a) ifsubparagraph (1) applies, from the date specified in the notice of amendment or revocation; or

(b) ifsubparagraph (3) applies, from the date the inconsistent legislation applies.

(5) The amended or revoked part of a private

ruling-(a) continues to apply to arrangements commenced before the amendment or revocation; and

(b) does not apply to arrangements commenced after the amendment or revocation.

7—Tax Clearance Certificate

(1) The Commissioner-General shall not permit any importer or other person to clear goods in commercial quantities or meant for com-mercial purposes from a port or a factory in Ghana unless the importer or other person produces to the Commissioner-General a tax clearance certificate issued in respect of the importer or that other person in the year of assessment in which the goods are to be cleared.

(2) Where any authority or person is empowered by an enactment to effect the registration of title to land or a document conferring title to land, that authority or person shall not effect the registration of that title or document unless there is produced to that authority or person a tax clearance certificate issued in the year of assessment in which the regis-tration is to be effected and in respect of the person applying for the registration or, in respect of the person on behalf of whom the applica-tion is made.

(3) No contract shall be awarded by any agency or body in which public funds are vested to any person for the provision of services including consultancy services, unless that person produces to the agency or body a Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Commissioner-General in respect of that person in the year of assessment in which the contract is to be awarded.

(4) A tax clearance certificate issued under this paragraph is valid for the period and for the purposes determined by the Commissioner-General.

(5) Persons who discharge their tax obligations up to the end of the preceding year of assessment or the relevant quarter of the current year may be granted an all purpose tax clearance certificate valid for a period of not less than three months or valid for the subsequent quarter.

(6) Where a person is required to produce a tax clearance

certifi-cate under this paragraph, and the certificertifi-cate is not for a specific purpose, the person enjoined to require the production shall first inspect the original certificate and thereafter demand and retain a copy of the certificate.

(7) In this paragraph, “tax clearance certificate” means a certifi-cate issued by the Commissioner-General to a person stating that no tax is due under this Act by that person in respect of the periods stated in the certificate or that that person has made arrangements satisfactory to the Commissioner-General for the payment of the tax due.

(8) Tax Identification Number

(1) For the purpose of identifying persons subject to tax under this Act, the Commissioner-General may issue to a person a Tax Identi-fication Number.

(2) A person shall show the Tax Identification Number in any return, notice, or other document used for the purposes of this Act.

(9) Official Language

(1) English is the official language of this Act and the Revenue Authority may refuse to recognise any communication or document that is not in the official language.

(2) Where a communication or document that is not in the official language is relevant in applying a tax law to a taxpayer, the Commissioner-General may require the taxpayer to provide a translation of the communication or document into the official language.

(3) The Commissioner-General’s requirement must be in writing and served on the taxpayer.

(4) A taxpayer must use a translator approved by the Commissioner-General and meet the expense of the translation.

(5) If a taxpayer fails to comply with subparagraph (2), the Commissioner-General may have the communication or document translated at the cost of the taxpayer.